• Nobles of Null is a forum based roleplay site where sci-fi and magic collide. Here, Earth remains fractured and divided despite humanity reaching out to the stars. Worse still, the trans-human slaves of one major power have escaped, only to establish their own Empire, seething with resentment at abuses of the past. Even the discovery of aliens, though medieval in development, has failed to rally these squabbling children of Earth together with its far darker implications. Worse still, is the discovery of the impossible - magic. Practiced by the alien locals, nearly depleted and therefore rare, its reality warping abilities remains abstract and distant to the general populace. All the while, unseen in the darkness of space, forces from without threaten to press in. For those with eyes opened by insight, it is clear that an era is about to end, and that a new age will dawn.

VotO Book 2 Chapter 9: Return Home

Ray of Meep

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November, 2321

Earth, Sol System, Pacific Ocean


The young Jason Shire scrambled up one of the crumbling, vegetation ridden foundations on the artificial island, navigating rusty ladders and cracked concrete stairs. Sulking around the vines, inside cool shadows, he finally felt the warmth of oceanic sunlight at the top of the structure, able to witness the entirety of the Wang Gao-Dostigat artificial island.

A century and a half ago, at the peak of the old Chinese regime's peak, the Wang Gao island was at the center of an ambitious megastructure project, a space elevator that would further bridge the gap between space and Earth's surface. But the project was abruptly cancelled, China's Soviet callaborators quietly pulling out, and as the URC rose from the ashes to take the Old Guard's place on Earth, it seemed the project to be economically impractical, dedicating its resources to maintain older infrastructure. Thus, the artificial island rotted away while new organic life sprang anew upon its corpse, a painful reminder that despite humanity's technological advancements, entropy was still king.

Not that Jason cared. For all he knew, the island was a beautiful place to witness launches coming from both the URC and the AU. Star Dragon launches were regular occurrence in the Pacific Ocean, as regular as freight trains running through San Francisco, but seeing skyscrapers roar into the sky and beyond riled the imaginations of children and adults alike. Today though, was special, as Jason unpacked his telescope, aiming it at a small, fuzzy shape, filtered blue by the atmosphere. News of the arrest of the Daqin Empress spread across the entire globe, and, more importantly to him, the location of the Jiang Xue was tracked to Low Earth Orbit, right above the Pacific Ocean. It wasn't everyday that a space battleship approached so close to the planet, and Jason was adamant on seeing it with his own naked eye.




 

Ray of Meep

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Luo Meng quietly watched the void turn from black to blue as the presidential aerospace lander smoothly entered Earth's atmosphere. The craft was state of the art, with technology sourced from the AU, GDW, and homegrown from Li Ming, every thruster and control surface meticulously placed, every sensor calibrated perfectly, the entire craft tested and simulated a thousand times to make the journey from space to planetside no worse than an elevator ride. Of course, it was a lot better than that, with complete 360 degree view of the outside world through the myriad of high definition cameras, with the internal space of a luxury, high rise apartment for the officials.

The Prime minister couldn't help but feel a sense of awe as she indulged her eyeballs with the view of the blue and green planet, her taste buds with Black Dragon Tea, courtesy of the URC president in anticipation of their arrival. Two guards stood in her office accompanying her, with the Empress herself seated on a couch in the corner, unrestrained besides an explosive collar strapped to her neck, a compromise between the Prime Minister and the President of Shen Zhou. One wrong move, and the Zhu Li would turn into a bloody puddle.
 

CadetNewb

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"Oh, this brings back memories," the Empress fondly smiled. Watching the world come closer and closer, she seemed excited. Or, at least as excited a regent could be without overstepping their role. Even with that explosive collar around her neck, she was once again clad in her own clothing, and exuded an air of confidence. "Some of my children say there's all sorts of treasures and gems inside of the trash-heap of Beijing," she noted. The city had fallen on hard, hard times, but despite all of that, stubbornly stayed alive. The vertical sprawl now put the legendary Kowloon Walled City to shame, and like many of the late Communist Party's holdings, were inevitably some cesspool of scum and villainy that business, crime and all sorts of hidden gems resided in. "Still, this present surprise aside, I thought we were going to the much better fortified Shen Zhou System? What happened?" she knowingly teased.
 

Ray of Meep

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"I should ask you that question." Luo Meng walked over to the Empress, offering her a cup of tea, before sitting besides her on an adjacent couch. Four Daqin corvettes that flashed on radar, stealth missiles that sprang from the vacuum itself, similar threats to the Da Han, all too close for comfort. She had to admit she was quite concerned for her own safety, but the fact that she sat next to a Zhuli that could snap her neck in half overtook concerns of stealth ships millions of kilometers away.

"Whether you ordered them or not, you're going to get quite the media coverage from the four corners of humanity. When was the last time you've got press cameras on you?" The Prime Minister asked. It was irrelevant questioning, but now that the AU, GDW, and CCM could all get their eyeballs on the trials now, there was going to be months of talks ahead, and many, many questions. A double edged sword, really. The Zhuli here had a better chance of living now, to the chagrin of Shen Zhou, but her being on Earth might just make the Daqin think twice before dropping from orbit, lest they upset the other powers.

--------------------

Jason set his backpack down, assembling his telescope, an off-the-shelf, hobbyist assembly that could see the cities on Luna and had a built in camera. He was screwing in the last bolt that secured the instrument to a tripod when he head the faint rumbling of a motorboat off in the distance. Peering over the edge of the foundation, he saw four small dots step onto the artificial island, seemingly carrying large cases, a dozen smaller dots flying out in all directions across the entire area. A professional film crew, perhaps? Jason returned to his telescope. Probably trying to do something artsy and juxtapose footage of the abandoned space elevator with that of the cruiser.
 

CadetNewb

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"I have been gazed upon by your people far more often than they even know themselves," the Empress of the Daqin Empire proudly boasted. "But this change of plan? You think I know?"

"Innocent, clueless me?" Zhuli continued to smile, mockingly fluttering her eyelashes. "Since you did ask though, it would only be polite to answer, even if it is speculation. Very accurate speculation," she pointed out. "Given the potentialities that we are faced with, I would have to guess that this scenario we are in happens to be one where we have been diverted to Earth. Most likely due to duress," she gazed out the 'window' and onto Earth itself. Even after all its years, Earth was beautiful. But not all of it. "And judging by the changing skies, we really are heading to the ash-heap that was Beijing, effectively forcing the Republic to divert forces here to extract you and the other supposedly-important-people, essentially allowing my children to divide and conquer you. This isn't like Finland, Poland or Ukraine after all." As she said this though, the air seemed to cool even though it remained the same, the air tingling their skin as goosebumps formed. Something was wrong. Very, very wrong.

"We shouldn't have been taken like Helen of Troy," Zhuli frowned, eyebrows furrowed as she gazed on the darkening skies. "Your dreams are all more likely to be crushed."
 

Ray of Meep

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"I would worry about yourself first." Luo Meng felt the need to defend the Republic's institutions. "Given our nature as democracies, we have competent chains of command and lines of succession. Shen Zhou, Li Ming, they'll do just fine in the event of President Hak's and my demise. If fleets do come to Sol, they'll be prioritizing the defense of Earth first, not us." She then conceded, standing up to look out the window. "It's going to be a bloodbath though. A lot of our people are going to die. We never did mend the old wounds."

She turned back to the Zhuli, noticing her frown, how she was ever so subtly on edge, how she was distracted, looking at at the endless sky. The Zhuli's shift in attitude was enough to put Luo Meng on edge herself, more so now. "What's the matter?" She asked, audibly concerned.

--------------------

A soft whirl of rotors came behind Jason, who paused his fixation with his observations, turning around to find a drone, a sleek black, its soulless eyes staring at the young man. Too late did he see the firearm underslung from the main chassis, before his vision turned red, his ears ringing, then nothingness. Calm silence returned to the top of the broken pillar. A corpse. A telescope. At the base, four figures gathered, quietly preparing the storm to follow.
 

CadetNewb

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"My own well being is entirely out of my hands now," the fourth of her kind smiled wryly at the other woman. "I might as well enjoy my visit to Neo-Beijing and not worry." Despite this, that pristine frown returned as she gazed out the window again. "For the longest time, we have made plan and scheme and plan after plan, all laid out and ready to execute against any contingency," Zhuli began. "I may have had the sabers rattled once in a while, but nothing had ever truly come to blows until now. And now that they will, things have proceeded so smoothly that it is unsettling," she admitted, watching the scenery as they flew by.
 

Ray of Meep

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Luo Meng raised an eyebrow. "What fuels your confidence? First blood has yet to be drawn. Why are you so certain in your people's victory?"

The warm, orange light that illuminated the interior of the Prime Minister's office suddenly gave way to red alert, the entire aircraft making a hard bank rightward, throwing both of the heads of state left, onto the out-view panels. Hot beverage, unsecured electronics and holders were tossed all over the room, buffeting Luo Meng and the Empress. Grunting a pushing herself up, Luo Meng saw a small, black dot in the distance, fire at its rear, flying straight towards them. Suddenly, a cloaked, flying drone, seemingly materialized out of thin air, putting itself between the missile and their aircraft, exploding into a thousand brilliant pieces of metal and ceramic, some of which hailed upon the aircraft.

Before the Prime Minister could react, she felt a sharp pain in her abdomen.

Once the Empress' focus returned, she found the room perforated by shrapnel. The red light turned a pool of blood under Luo Meng's body black, warning sounds blared for the loss of atmosphere. Her own body was covered in cuts and bruises. Two human security guards rushed in, coldly pointing their pistols at the Zhuli, before a pair of medics followed. One tended to the Empress, bandaging up her wounds and handing her an oxygen mask, while the other placed on over Luo Meng's mouth, filling her wound with biofoam and injecting her with a dose of morphine. The Prime Minister came to, carried upon a stretcher, warily eyeing the Empress as she was helped up and held by the two security guards by her arms.

She was sweating bullets, waving at the guards to bring the Empress along with her. "Zhuli Number Four," She remarked weakly, "Was this part of your plan?"
 

CadetNewb

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As the craft shook, as sparks flew, and new light pierced into the hull like rays from heaven through the new holes, Zhuli sat and thought inside the recesses of her mind. Nevermind that her flesh and blood body made to stand, or cling onto the mask for oxygen. There were many, many possibilities that had been forseen - paths that could be taken - and they were all accounted for. Tested, tried, practiced with until perfection until victory was wrought. But, that left behind the possibilities that hadn't been predicted. The unknowns that she was not even aware of being out of her perspective. This offense on her being however...it shed new light on other potentialities. And what must be done.

"Rest now. We will talk later," she smiled.
 
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